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History

Longwood Plantation and Magnolia Place was a dream-come-true for founders Michele Ford and Jean Hooker. Taking more than 25 years of long-term healthcare experience, Michele and Jean began to form ideas about building and operating an assisted living facility. With their years of experience, they knew they could fill a need in their surrounding counties.

The USC Small Business Development Center at South Carolina State University worked with Michele and Jean during their 2 years of planning and preparation. The rewards of applying their nursing home experience with their desire to offer Orangeburg County a new concept in healthcare paid off in December 1994, when Longwood Plantation was officially licensed in South Carolina to accept residents.

In 2011, Jean and Michele felt it was time to retire and had searched for several years to find the right new owner. Not wanting to sell this community treasure to a large corporation or to real estate investors, they met Clay and Paula Fowler. Clay’s two decades of healthcare experience and approach to caring for people who fit perfectly with Michele and Jean’s wishes for the future. The women noted that Clay and Paula were the same age as Jean and Michele when Longwood first opened and their children were even the same age at that time. The Fowler’s purchased Longwood Plantation and Magnolia Place on October 24, 2011.

Longwood Plantation began as a 42-bed community, the first freestanding facility of its size in Orangeburg County. In February 2000, Magnolia Place was constructed on the 10-acre campus of Longwood Plantation. Magnolia Place is a 16-bed Assisted Living community for residents with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Magnolia Place is the first freestanding assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s care in Orangeburg County.

Longwood Plantation began with just 2 employees. With the addition of Magnolia Place, the company now employs more than 25 people.

We are conveniently located between Columbia and Charleston in beautiful Orangeburg County.

Mission

We at Longwood Plantation and Magnolia Place strive to provide excellent care and services for our residents in a safe, loving and comfortable home-like environment. We value each person entrusted to our care and pledge to treat each with respect, dignity and compassion. We will help each resident maintain their highest attainable level of independence. We will strive to maintain and improve their quality of life.

Owner

Healthcare background

Clay was born in Anderson, South Carolina and Paula was born in Seneca, South Carolina, and were raised in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Cashiers, North Carolina respectively. They married in 1996 and moved throughout the South as Clay served as the executive of a number of hospitals and nursing homes.

Clay has 2 decades of healthcare management experience having served as Chief Executive Officer of Ennis Regional Medical Center in Ennis, Texas, Chief Operating Officer at Doctors Hospital of Dallas, Texas, Vice President and Administrator of Palmetto Health Parkridge Surgery Center in Columbia, South Carolina and Vice President and Administrator of DeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale in Atlanta, Georgia.

He also has worked in several post-acute organizations. Clay has consulted on healthcare trends for Gerson Lehrman Group councils and is board certified as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. The Fowlers have a vision for personal care that is unique. Years of designing hospital-quality systems and award-winning customer satisfaction programs have shaped a belief that we can provide outstanding services to our residents and families.

Our Approach to Care

We view our role as an extension of the family. We are here to provide assistance, safety and a secure environment. We ensure that our staff are properly screened, trained and motivated, and we will communicate with the family any concerns we have along the way. Our view is that Longwood Plantation and Magnolia Place is home to our residents.

We believe it is best for the family to communicate directly with the family physician or other caregivers in decisions regarding treatment and we will be available to provide our input, observations and advice. We do not view our role to take the place of the family in arranging for care or appointments.

We recognize that our residents have a right to decline care or medication and are in charge of their own decision making every day.

Longwood Plantation is a member of The South Carolina Association of Residential Care Homes, The Assisted Living Federation of America, The Palmetto Alzheimer’s Chapter and has been a member of The Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce since April 24, 1995.

We are committed to safety in all areas and especially in procuring and administering medication.

Personal Touch

Like all assisted living communities, we will develop an individual plan of care for our residents and update this document accordingly. However, we will go a step further by personalizing everything for our residents. We recognize that different people have developed different habits and patterns throughout life and we wish for time at Longwood Plantation to be spent in the most enjoyable way. We have been known to prepare special meals or make sandwiches late at night at the request of our residents. We are here at your service.